Parole Denied for Robert F Kennedy Assasin Sirhan Sirhan

COALINGA —The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) today denied a grant of parole for Pleasant Valley State Prison inmate Sirhan Sirhan, convicted for the 1968 assassination of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Sirhan, 66, was convicted in Los Angeles County on April 17, 1969 of one count of first-degree murder and five counts of assault with attempt to commit murder. He was initially sentenced to death; however, on August 18, 1972, his death sentence was commuted to life when the California Supreme Court found that the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the state constitution.

On June 5, 1968, Sirhan shot and killed Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Five other people were shot but survived: Paul Schrade, William Weisel, Ira Goldstein, Elizabeth Evans and Irwin Stroll.

Inmate Sirhan has been incarcerated since May 23, 1969.

This was his 13th subsequent parole consideration hearing before a BPH panel. Inmate Sirhan will be considered for another parole review in 5 years.